DIY Lego table
I had this friend growing up who had an INCREDIBLE collection of Lego and Playmobil, and I was obsessed with playing over at his house. He had so much Lego that he had a separate (large) clear plastic bin for every colour. It was an OCD kid’s dream!
Without (fully) realizing it, I have totally been leading my four-year-old son in the same direction. Recreating my childhood friend? Yup, basically.
D started off his Playmobil collection on his third birthday, with a gigantic farm set from my Mom and Little Sis. In just over a year, he’s amassed an impressive amount. We converted his old train table into a Playmobil table (“farm table”) and it does a great job of keeping it all contained.
I love Playmobil, but I was also itching for him to get started with Lego. I had a very small Lego collection when I was younger (don’t ask what happened to it — sad, tearful story) and I would spend hours building houses with it. I needed to AVENGE MY LEGO COLLECTION, er, give my son the same joy.
My dad and stepmother bought him a set early in the spring, and he went absolutely nuts over it. He was also really good at following the instructions and putting it all together, so my heart swelled with pride. It was happening! A tiny Lego enthusiast!
D’s birthday was in the beginning of June, so we threw him a Lego party (more tomorrow on that) for his friends, and a Lego-themed family dinner on his actual birthday. That meant he unwrapped a LOT of Lego (squeeeeeeeeee!) and we were all thrilled.
To keep that Lego from vanishing all over the house, though, we knew we had to create a playtable that would contain it …
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Heather learns to run
So basically I was totally inspired by this awesome girl named Molly, and decided that I could learn to run, too.
Molly’s story totally hit home for me. She did Weight Watchers, lost 50 lbs., and went from not running at all — like meeee! — to being a superstar who just ran the Ottawa Marathon … all in less than three years.
After a few false starts in the fall, I tried a real couch-to-5K program and have gone successfully on exactly five runs. I’m not sure when I can call myself a runner … after 10? Maybe 20?
Oh, and I’m documenting most of my runs on Instagram, because we all know that if you don’t post your workout on social media, it didn’t happen.
This is kind of a huge deal for me, as a lifetime non-exerciser, because …
- I hate exercise
- I hate feeling sweaty
- I especially hate when my face feels sweaty under my makeup
- (Yes, I put on makeup before a run)
- I only wash my hair once a week
- I spend an hour curling/smoothing my hair once a week
- My hair frizzes up instantly in the rain
- I don’t like ruining my hair before the week is up
- Did I mention I hate sweating?
My hope is to become a person who actually LIKES running (like Molly) because it would be awesome to (A) be good at some form of exercise, and (B) burn calories, since breastfeeding until the end of time wasn’t an option.
So far, here are my high-scientific notes (mostly to myself):
- I like running in the nearby trailer park, because it’s a nice round paved loop
- I don’t like running on the main roads, because I think I look nerdy when I run, and I feel like people driving by are probably making fun of me
- I like running in the nearby wooded paths, except I constantly look over my shoulder for deer and/or rapists, and I will probably fall on a root or stump or something
- I don’t like running up the hills in the woods, because hills are hard (duh), although it was nice that there wasn’t anyone there to see me panting (except possibly the rapists who were lurking in the woods … who were also possibly panting?)
- I like running in the junior high parking lot, except then a deer got in my way and I had to change my course (we have a lot of deer around here, hey-yooo Canada)
- I need to invent a special running hat (hat? jacket?) that protects hair from frizzing 100%
xo
Five insignificant things that are frustrating me right now
- Darling Husband’s shiftwork. I know there are times when it’s a good thing, but depending on what schedule he’s on, it can be a real bitch. On his current rotation, he leaves in the middle of the night, so the kids and I are on our own all morning. He comes home exactly when I need to begin my workday, so I don’t get to see him all afternoon. When he pops into my office to chat, I have to cut him off because … *gestures wildly* Deadlines! Too much work work! Aughh! … and then I feel badly. I come up just in time for dinner, we eat, I often have to go BACK to work, and then when I come back up, he has to go to bed. I put the kids to bed, and … wait, where’s the part where I see him? I miss him.
- Finances. I wonder sometimes if we are very broke, but then it always seems relative to how OTHER PEOPLE (i.e. friends) are doing. I think we are definitely on the broke end of things, which is pretty much a habit by now. I’m really OK with living frugally, and watching what we spend, but occasionally it bugs me. I feel like I wear nothing but ancient jeans and T-shirts, and sometimes I have urges to drive to the city’s nice malls and buy all of the things. (Like I used to before we had kids! Zing!) Buying stuff is amazing. I’m not going to pretend it isn’t. But there is a pride (pride? something?) in being a big girl and not spending money, too, I guess.
- Running. I have been attempting to learn to run (as my Instagram followers can see/mock) and it was going well, and then the weather decided to be all pouring, all the time, on my running days. I ran on Sunday in the rain, because it was hair-washing day. But the last two days? I HAVEN’T WANTED TO RUIN MY HAIR WITH RAIN. (#firstworldproblems) I think I may have to try a DVD workout of some kind, so I have options for the really wet days? Or maybe I just need to suck it up and ruin my hair, IDK.
- Ambition. I have this really amazing gig where I work from home, writing, and get paid to do it (uh, not that I don’t totally LOVE YOU GUYS — I write for you for free!). It sounds so simple, and it so isn’t. I have to put out a lot of fires during non-work hours. I have to work during non-work hours. I struggle with taking on the right amount of work, the right kind of work, all at the right time. I feel guilty about working too much, but then I feel like I should be working more. I wonder if there is more out there for me, professionally, but then the next minute I’m wishing I could be a SAHM. I don’t think I could ever truly be a SAHM, because I would turn something into a business, but … it just sounds appealing, sometimes, when you see
how little they have to do, er, how they get naptimes free! (My teacher-friends will be off for the entire summer very soon, so CUE UP THE JEALOUSY — HEATHER’S GOING TO BE OFF THE CHARTS!) - Messes. Two messes in particular. My office is a disaster, and my closet is such a hot mess right now. Remember that time I cleaned it out and organized it? Well, it looks way worse than that original “before” picture. It is a gross wasteland of winter boots and coats, outgrown kiddie clothes, and stuff I should donate — with my vacuum standing up in the middle, heaped with more crap. I WANT to clean it out. I do! But the only “free” time I have is after the kids (and Darling Husband) are in bed, so … hot mess it is!
Remember that time my closet wasn’t disgusting? Yeah, me neither.
Playing with your kids’ toys after they’re sleeping (*Sponsored post*)
So there was this one time (last week) when I was sent an editorial sample (toy) for review, and may have (definitely did) stay up after my kids went to bed and played with it … you know?
I also took pictures, because YEAH!
Here we have a very lovely crossover story …
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| Meet the Cailco Critters. Mama Bunny and her little babies: a lovely medley of bunnies and puppies, because it is a beautiful example of LOVE KNOWS NO COLOURS/SHAPES/BREEDS or something like that. |
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| Mama Bunny runs a successful ice cream business. She haz many customerz. |
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| But woah! What’s this? One day, a van full of Polly Pockets shows up in Calico Critter Land. These girls are maybe dressed a wee bit, uh, flirtatiously. They are fond of wearing blazers with no shirts underneath, and wearing their bathing suits backwards. |
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| Mama Bunny welcomes the Polly Pockets into her home, and they happily take care of the babies while Mama Bunny works in her ice cream truck. |
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| But! The Polly Pockets are shrewd businesswomen themselves, and they decide that Mama Bunny should EXPAND HER ICE CREAM BUSINESS and totally open a DAIRY QUEEN right here in Calico Critter Land. |
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| “Hi! Welcome to Dairy Queen! See my responsible golf shirt? It’s my most capable-looking outfit.” |
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| “We haz Blizzardz, yummmmmmm.” |
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| And so, forevermore, Calico Critter Land was home to lovely independently-owned Dairy Queen.
And they all lived happily ever after. |
If you’ve followed any of this silliness, now is the point in the post where I tell you that the kids and I totally adore this little playset. It’s by miWorld, and they also have sets of Claire’s, Sweet Factory, Sprinkles Cupcakes, and an OPI Nail Salon (sold at Walmart, Target, and Toys ‘R’ Us).
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| D and I put the set together while C was napping, and he SQUEALED WITH JOY at each of the teeny tiny ice creams, Blizzard cups, fries, and the itty-bitty hot dog in particular. It is all seriously freaking adorable, you guys. THE TEENY TINY STRAW inside the drink cup is just TOO MUCH OMG. |
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| Miniatures make us happy! (Tiny sundaes, in particular) |
Thank you, miWorld*, for adding a profitable little business to our Calico Critter table. Mama Bunny is hiring new employees left and right, and she’s totally seeing her sights on retirement.
xo
*miWorld provided me with the adorable mini Dairy Queen to review, but I have not been otherwise compensated for this post. I just really like playing with toys.
(Guys, did I mention the French fries come with a TEENY CARDBOARD FRENCH FRY BOX? I know! I know! #omgthecuteness)
Sandwich artist? Dude, I’m a pancake artist …
You guys know that I’m not much of a cook. Like at all. I fail at Pinterest recipes like nobody’s business!
But I’ve discovered that the one thing I am pretty damn good at making is pancakes. Pure, simple, pancakes.
D and C both adore pancakes (well, what kid doesn’t?) and could eat them every single morning. They practically do, actually, because Darling Husband and I take turns making huge batches and freezing them. We pop a few in the microwave each morning, and BAM! Just as good as the day they were made.
Here are some of the cute ways I’ve jazzed up our pancakes lately …
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| Use fruit!
Adorable bear! I saw something like this on Facebook, and liked it so much I took a screenshot (the poor woman’s Pinterest? For when she’s not on Pinterest at the moment?). It’s just a couple of banana slices and chocolate chips, but MAN, IS IT CUTE! |
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| Put your batter in a ketchup bottle!
I read on Pinterest that you can wash out an old ketchup bottle and use it for pancake batter, and it worked perfectly. I made a Barbie for C, and a horse for D. See that curled tail? KILLS ME. LOVE IT. |
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| (Uh, always, always use the ketchup bottle to make shapes)
I made this “kitty” and this “horsie” without using the ketchup bottle, and you can see that the results, uh, are clearly not as nice. I tried to salvage the lumpy shapes with mini-M&Ms and chocolate chips for eyes — and some syrup whiskers! — but they still looked pretty crappy. |
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| Use cookie cutters!
I used heart-shaped cookie cutters on our pancakes for Valentine’s Day this year. I also poured yogurt into heart-shaped silicone molds and stuck them in the freezer to make heart-shaped yogurt pop things. Heart-shaped EVERYTHING! |
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| Write their name!
I used the ketchup bottle again this time, to spell out part of D’s name. Don’t mind that he’d already eaten part of the “X” when this photo was taken. |
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| Freestyle it!
I got bored of making pancake horses the other day, so I felt a bit daring and decided to make spirals — mostly because I wanted to see how they looked against the black griddle (the answer: amazing). They were a bit tricky to flip, but well worth it. D was fascinated by them. |
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Trust me, making “crafty” pancakes makes the chore of churning out thousands of them MUCH more fun. Now when I do plain old circles, I’m like *yawn, really?*
xo
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